Charts and data illustrate how Essex county council will save up to £300m through procurement. Photograph: Alamy

Essex county council has hit a major landmark in a four-year transformation programme that plans to save more than £300m in public spending across the entire council.

In order to achieve these savings, the council plans to become a commissioning-led organisation. This means it will focus on results for citizens and customers rather than sticking to long-held views about how the council should operate. In delivering public services it will function like a business, making sure that it offers value for money for local people.

With gross expenditure hitting £2.2bn, the council is looking for ways to reduce the amount it spends on goods and services, which currently cost approximately £930m. Working with IBM and frontline staff, the council has looked at how to reduce expenditure on expensive services such as highways and passenger transport for vulnerable adults and children. The council is already smashing its yearly targets: it saved £127m by January 2012 by transforming the procurement department and is on target to hit £150m in savings by March 2013.

As one of the key elements of the overall transformation programme, the council's procurement department has changed. In the past it was simply a buying team which took instructions from the council; now the procurement team plays a strategic role, working with heads of directorates to improve the way we work with partners who help us deliver the services to citizens.

At Essex, we realise that procurement has a major impact on many aspects of life in our area including economic development, social issues and the environment. Our procurement team now sits at the heart of the council, providing overall support and guidance, including to specialist procurement teams in each of the council's various directorates.

To increase the council's links with the local community, the team has also contributed to the council's corporate objectives: to support local businesses and economic growth, especially promoting apprenticeships, job opportunities for disadvantaged groups and work experience opportunities.